The importance of supporting your local club

With the league season just several hours away I spoke to Cobh Ramblers’ Dean Swords on how important it is to back your local League of Ireland team whether it be Finn Harps or Galway, Cobh or Waterford or the leagues newest entrants a couple of season’s ago, Blackrock’s Cabinteely.

This season with 3 teams relegated and only 1 promoted will be a testing year for a vast majority of teams.

Re-Calling the playoff’s last year Dean spoke of how great it was “to see all the fans getting out to support the lads and is hopeful this year they could get behind them again to help try and push one step further.”

From speaking to the Ramblers striker it was evident the belief they had and to experience that from a club in the first division in eyes of the bookies are up against it, It’s great to see no hill to high or in Cobh’s case no ocean too stormy.

The quality in the league “is a good standard and a lot of teams try to play good football like Ramblers” and sometimes in my opinion fans look down on it as not good enough.

Dean stressed that “all the players give as much as they can for the club who work very hard in pre-season and hopes they can have a good season for the supporters of Cobh Ramblers.”

Just to see the players wanting to have a good season for you, the fans is just one example of how community-based the League of Ireland really is.

In recent weeks Red FM have came on board with Cobh Ramblers and “will give the club the recognition they deserve.”
The large majority if not all club staff are volunteers who without a doubt do it for the love of the club.

The importance of having people around the club and “people putting in all the effort to try and help the club is great to see”, even if this is further a field than within the club.

“Anything happening at the club or games will be advertised so everyone knows whats happening.”

So there’s no reason to not get out and support your local team.

The players appreciate the support and so much work off the ball goes into making football enjoyable.

With tickets as cheap as €12 for Adults and just €5 for second-level students at some clubs why not witness for yourself what has proven to be “The greatest league in the world.”